The Washington Post has a chart that's at once fascinating and terrifying in light of Friday's horrific events in Newtown. The graphic, which was originally published following this summer's movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado, plots out the deadliest shootings in the U.S. — where they took place, what weapons were used, and how many victims were lost. Though it does not include today's shooting, current estimates would place the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre as the second deadliest on record. While we don't want to dwell too much on numbers — each is tragic in its own way — the chart does show the striking reality of gun violence in America. As of July, five of the 11 deadliest shootings occurred since 2007, adding today it would be six out of 12. Head over to the Post to view the chart. 

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at ezuckerman at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.
Esther Zuckerman